RAPE CRISIS Scotland have reported a near-50 per cent rise in the number of victims contacting them for help.

In the last year, they heard from 3957 people who had suffered sexual violence compared to 2712 in the previous 12 months. There has also been a seven-fold increase in the numbers seeking help over sexual bullying.

Eileen Maitland, an information and resource worker for the service, believes a string of recent, high-profile sexual abuse cases could be behind the figures.

She said: “There are people who call our helpline who say seeing things like the Jimmy Savile case has really brought things up for them that happened a long time ago.

“A lot of it is historical abuse and we say it’s never too late to seek support.”

Other reasons contacts have increased are the introduction of an email support service and a rise in police referrals.

The service responded to 441 emails looking for support from survivors, many of whom who were not yet ready for personal contact from a Rape Crisis worker.

Eileen said: “It’s interesting to see such a significant rise and it may also be due to us widening the means by which people can get in touch with us. Email support is continuing to be a great success. Widening access is a real priority for us.”

One victim said she felt the email correspondence had helped her build up the courage to seek further help.

She said: “It made me realise I don’t have to feel alone.”

Eileen told how the service got a lot of calls from women who weren’t aware that sexual assault is a crime regardless of whether they are married or not.

And there’s also been a worrying increase – 0.49 per cent to almost seven per cent – in reports of sexual bullying, which can include anything from coercing someone to pose for explicit photographs to teenagers being pressurised into having sex.

Eileen said it was impossible to say what had influenced the increase but added: “We are concerned about young people’s exposure to pornography and what kind of messages they are getting from that sort of material.”

Police referrals also rose dramatically from 193 in 2011/ 2012 to 386 in the last year. Police Scotland now have a National Rape Task Force dedicated to sexual offences and they work far more closely with organisations.

Sexual Offences Liason Officer, Detective Constable Norma Montgomery, said: “We make sure that we refer women to Rape Crisis and help them get any help that they need.

“There is a much more co-ordinated approach towards getting support for the victim than there ever was before.”